78 THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAR. 
of my old acquaintances and guests had assem- 
bled to welcome me. I could not resist their kind 
and pressing invitations to visit them once more, 
before going to Conception. I was received 
with the greatest cordiality, and all possible 
pains were taken to entertain me; but they 
complained sadly of the ravages of war, which 
had brought its usual concomitants, poverty 
and ruin, in its train. A melancholy change 
had taken place since my former visit; some of 
the wealthiest families had removed from Lima, 
and a striking difference was perceptible in the 
establishments of those that remained; while 
the silver utensils which formerly had been so 
common even among the poorer inhabitants, had 
wholly disappeared, and were replaced by a bad 
description of stone ware. 
The same traces of desolation were visible 
along the once beautiful road to Conception, 
whither we proceeded on spirited horses, as 
soon as we had paid the required visits. In- 
stead of the numerous flocks and herds which 
once adorned the meadows, burnt villages, 
uncultivated fields, devastated orchards, and 
swarms of beggars, presented a painful picture 
